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Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings after the 2018 season

By Hunter Noll

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 18: Dave Dombrowski the President of Baseball Operations of the Boston Red Sox stands at home plate before a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on September 18, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox won 5-4. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 18: Dave Dombrowski the President of Baseball Operations of the Boston Red Sox stands at home plate before a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on September 18, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox won 5-4. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: Pitcher Bryan Mata #34 of the World Team and the Boston Red Sox works the third inning against the U.S. Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park on July 15, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

2. Bryan Mata

Bryan Mata has control issues. If it wasn’t for that, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything negative to say about the right-handed pitcher.

Through 210 career innings, Mata’s allowed 103 free passes. More alarming is that in 2018 he walked 58 batters in 72 innings.

Nearly every category has been dominated by Mata though. The 19-year-old has a career 3.39 ERA and 196 strikeouts. He’s also allowed just six home runs in his career.

2018 saw Mata post career-bests in home runs allowed (1) and batting average against (.229). As I mentioned above – he’s 19. Despite that, he’s had three years of experience in the Red Sox organization. All three years have been at different levels of the minors, and all three have been positive.

Mata spent 2018 in Advanced-A and clearly pitched well enough to move up in 2019. The Red Sox might decide to slow down on the advancements though – to iron out the control problem.

Of his three pitches, the curveball is the worst of the group. Like with a few others on the list, this is telling because it’s still a solid pitch. It has a nice consistent break to it and as the season went on Mata seemed to be getting more comfortable with the pitch.

Next is a fastball that sits in the low-to-mid-90s. It has the feel of an overpowering pitch that could see hitters swing through it or create weak contact due to late life and movement. Many believe this to be his best pitch.

Personally, that honor would go to the changeup though. It sits in the mid-80s but looks just like a fastball out of his hand. A nice drop-off at the end will get some hitters who were able to time the pitch to still miss.

At 6’3″ the prototypical frame of a pitcher is there as he puts on more mass. Mata has the pitch-mix to become a star. While the control in 2018 was a bit concerning, he’s still 19 – meaning there’s plenty of time to figure some things out. There’s no reason to believe he can’t be a front-end starter or even an ace in a future Red Sox rotation.

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